Why a Young Professional Erased Her Name Online to Protect Her Big Law Career (Exclusive)

Even successful 2025, arsenic much careers clasp online visibility, nan ineligible manufacture remains cautious astir public-facing societal media profiles.

That disagreement became excessively stark to disregard for 1 23-year-old moving successful Big Law. After months of posting astir her regular routines, outfits, and study tips nether her existent name, she decided to spell anonymous online.

“In nan ineligible industry, nan clients astatine nan patient are essential,” Sophie tells PEOPLE exclusively. “It tin create conflict pinch nan clients if an individual is not cautious of what they are posting aliases moreover promoting connected societal media.”

Though she's chiefly received support from those who discovered her online presence, nan risks felt excessively individual - and excessively real. “Most are amazed really good I’ve managed to equilibrium everything I do,” she says. “I wanted my societal media to show that it’s imaginable to activity a demanding full-time occupation while pursuing different hobbies and having work-life balance.”

Sophie — who preferred not to stock her past sanction — has been moving successful Big Law since July 2024 and says nan acquisition has been “incredible.”

“I wouldn’t opportunity moving successful this manufacture has influenced nan measurement I navigate my societal media beingness because I’ve ever been cautious of what I’m posting,” she shares. “The only point that’s changed is being capable to person a different, much afloat position connected what nan ineligible manufacture is like.”

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Sophie started sharing contented astatine a young age, agelong earlier her firm job, but began building her assemblage conscionable past October. “I started posting my travel of ‘getting my spark back,’ which for maine consisted of creating a patient routine, uncovering my emotion for fashion, and studying consistently again,” she says. 

Her contented – adjacent parts motivational and artistic – struck a chord pinch her followers, but it wasn't thing she wanted to prosecute afloat time. “I’ve wanted to beryllium a lawyer since I was 8 years old, and that’s not going to change,” she says. “Social media is nosy and exciting, but rule schoolhouse and being a lawyer is really I consciousness fulfilled. It’s thing I’ve genuinely been passionate astir almost my full life.”

With a ineligible way successful mind, she precocious decided to group boundaries pinch societal media – making judge to ne'er uncover her patient aliases position and now, moreover her afloat name. “I censor definite parts of my contented for privateness reasons,” Sophie explains. “However, nan characteristic that you spot online is benignant of who I am.”

Going anonymous wasn’t astir hiding from coworkers. “Despite what a batch of viewers misinterpreted it for, it wasn’t needfully to forestall my patient aliases coworkers from uncovering my societal media,” she admits. “I was reasoning much astir nan future... it conscionable felt for illustration an penetration of privateness if I’m easy searchable pinch that information.” 

The last determination came down to online information and nan request to support master relationships pinch her clients. “I’ve said it connected societal media before, and I’ll support saying it, but for me, my occupation ever comes first,” Sophie emphasizes. 

When activity ramps up, nan posts stop. “For me, moving successful a master manufacture and posting connected societal media is each astir knowing what nan due abstraction is to stock what, and societal media conscionable isn’t nan due spot a batch of times,” she tells PEOPLE. 

Still, Sophie believes that early generations of ineligible professionals whitethorn yet find a way to blending nationalist platforms pinch private-sector work. “It’s each astir uncovering that equilibrium and being capable to build your individual marque astir nan policies and guidelines of nan patient you’re at,” she explains.

With nan Law School Admission Test (LSAT) coming up successful August and her first rule schoolhouse applications connected nan horizon, Sophie is focusing much than ever connected what comes next. She believes by remaining anonymous online, she will beryllium capable to stock much of her rule schoolhouse and post-law schoolhouse travel pinch her followers. 

"I emotion utilizing societal media to archive my life arsenic a integer diary, and it’s a measurement for maine to ever person memories of my life erstwhile I’m older," she says. "How overmuch of my life/work I stock will apt dangle connected which patient I activity for, but I’ll beryllium judge to pass pinch nan patient connected their societal media policies."

When asked what proposal she’d springiness others trying to navigate akin situations, she says discretion is vital. “It’s important to retrieve that whether you for illustration it aliases not, nan contented you’re posting is simply a reflection of your contiguous circle, whether that’s nan group you situation yourself with, your workplace, aliases your community,” she says.

As for what’s up for nan ineligible field, Sophie is optimistic. “We tin ever usage much group sharing their life moving successful nan ineligible manufacture and providing different perspectives,” she admits. 

“I person younger viewers who spot my life and look up to maine because they want to beryllium successful my shoes someday, conscionable for illustration really I look up to a batch of lawyers I spot connected societal media and dream to beryllium wherever they are successful a fewer years.”